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The Banishment of Fear

By Joe Boot/ August 14, 2016

Series  1 John: Walking in the Light

Context  Westminster Chapel Toronto

Topic  Discipleship

Scripture  1 John 4:13-5:4

As sons of God we are freed from the wrath of God and have confidence before Him.

Scripture: 1 John 4:13-5:4

Sermon Notes:

  1. The banishment of fear is based on a true heart-understanding of the power and protection of God.
  2. People today live with fear of economic collapse, war, terror, sickness, loneliness, death, etc.
  3. We try to escape fear through entertainment, work, medication, drugs, etc.
  4. The testimony about the truth of gospel and our belonging to God comes directly from the Holy Spirit witnessing deep in our hearts.
  5. The incarnation of the Son is the basis of the gospel, and it is the basis of our transformation and ability to love one another.
  6. We need to pray continually for the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives transforming and enabling us.
  7. Belief and love are the evidence, not the condition, of the Holy Spirit living within us.
  8. The one who truly knows God receives confidence and deliverance from fear (2 Tim. 1:7; Ps. 112:7).
  9. John is not speaking about the fear of reverence and respect toward God; he’s speaking of a servile fear based on guilt and expectation of punishment.
  10. As we grow in experience we overcome childish fears. We fear what we do not understand and what we cannot control; we fear punishment of sin.
  11. People of the world fear because they have no moral and ethical starting point for their lives.
  12. Godless man savagely turns on God’s truth as a source of hatred.
  13. Rebellious man seeks death in the face of God’s judgment, a suppressed reality in his consciousness.
  14. Guilty people become moral cowards, unable to confront evil.
  15. As sons of God we’re freed from the wrath of God and have confidence before Him.
  16. Worldly people don’t enter the church, because they fear an encounter with God.
  17. When God’s love in Christ is perfected in us we can have boldness and confidence about the day of judgment.
  18. Whatever is born of God overcomes the world. We need to leave areas of faith and confidence in God’s hands.
  19. By the Holy Spirit we are enabled to love our brothers and sisters in Christ and obey God’s commandments.
  20. Preoccupation about worldly fears is a sin (Matt. 6:25-34).
  21. Our confidence in God’s love is the victory that overcomes the world.

Application Questions:

  1. What are common sources of fear and how does the world cope with them?
  2. What is the basis of the Christian’s experience of the banishment of fear?
  3. How is the fear of the Lord the antidote to human fear (cf. Ps. 34; 37)?
  4. Do we display lack of faith and confidence in Christ by holding onto our fears and worries?
  5. How can we minister the love of God to others if we are in the grip of our own fears?